Altered Beliefs
by brainysmrf
Summary: A Series of thought provoking one-shots
1. Chapter 1

A deal's a deal

Brennan walked into her office to find Booth on her couch, having a very animated phone conversation. She stood and listened to his side of the conversation.

"I know Vick...absolutely, he's always been that way...well, yeah...he wouldn't want them to know, not after last time...hey, a priest can only do so much, eventually a person has to be held accountable for their actions..."

Brennan couldn't imagine what Booth and this guy were discussing, but it sounded interesting. Booth looked over at her and covered the mouthpiece, whispering "Sorry, I'll just be a minute or two, then we can go."

She nodded in agreement. She sat down at her desk and pretended to read emails while still listening to Booth's conversation. His voice was low and soothing, it was the voice he used when he was trying to calm her down.

"I told you before that ...I don't believe in that either but ...no...no...I'm sorry, you don't deserve this...no you don't...if you want to get away, I have a spare room...it's going to be ok, I promise you, Victoria..."

At the sound of Booth saying a woman's name, Brennan's head jerked away from her computer towards him - she assumed that he had been speaking to a man. He noticed her reaction and he shook his head at her, rolling his eyes.

"Hey, Mom and Dad probably like you better than Jared anyway, they are not going to cut you off...yeah, they are old school but they love you - you're family...I'll give him a call and my opinion...he's my brother, I can say what I want...I told you on your wedding day that you were marrying the wrong Booth. I know I was only 17..." Once he stopped laughing he said "In all seriousness Vic, this isn't your fault...call me if you need anything...you sure?...ok...bye."

He focused his attention to his partner who was pretending to be focused on her computer. "Sorry about that - family stuff." He was amused at how poorly she hid her obvious interest in his conversation.

"Oh, everything ok?"

"That was my sister-in-law, Jared's wife Victoria. They're getting divorced." Booth's eyes darkened "Apparently one woman wasn't enough for my big brother. He left her last week for another attorney in his practice. Vic's a wreck, more about the divorce than him leaving, afraid she's gonna be ex-communicated and that my parents aren't going to want to see her any more - it's a mess." He leaned back on the couch and let out a huge sigh.

"She shouldn't worry - divorce is as commonplace as buying a car in our culture - it's not the taboo it once was."

"No Bones, getting divorced should be taboo." He paused, choosing his next words carefully, "I know that you don't believe in monogamy or marriage, seeing as how you referred to it last week as an 'overly-celebrated-self-imposed-death-sentence' and that 'anthropologically speaking' we should be running around mating with whomever's facial features line up the best but getting a divorce is wrong. Period. End of Story."

"I can see why you would think that, being Catholic and all but I just don't see it that way."

"Take religion off the table and think about it."

"Off the table? I don't know - " She was shaking her head, confused.

"Take it out of the...the equation."

"Ok" Brennan mentally thought of a bible being taken off a table.

"Bones, you are an honest woman and if you tell someone you care about that you are going to do something for them - you do it."

"True, as best I can."

"I've seen you move heaven and earth, now that's just a metaphor - don't start in on that, to keep promises you've made to the people you care about in your life. When you marry someone, you are promising them that you're going to stick by them regardless of what the world throws at you."

"It's an impractical promise to make - you can't predict what's going to happen in the future."

"I'm not saying that nobody should ever get divorced; people change, people cheat, people fall out of love but to me getting a divorce is wrong no matter what. It doesn't mean that I think people who get divorced are bad people it's just that it is a big deal and it should never be looked upon lightly - ever."

"Why?" She crossed her arms, settling in for the long argument.

"Because you're not honoring your marker, you're not keeping your word and I believe that a man is only as good as his word."

Brennan sat, staring at him, weighing his words against her beliefs. She wanted so badly to stick to her guns but he had a point. She had always thought that divorce was a non-issue, it happended all the time. But she had never looked at it this way, she had never looked at it Booth's way. Breaking a promise _was_ a big deal. She believed herself to be a woman of her word and…. "So, ultimately what you're saying is that a deal's a deal? And that if you can't stand by your word you're not only dishonoring yourself but also the person you gave it to, correct? "

Booth smiled, he liked that phrase, "Yes, a deal's a deal. And you have to honor that."

"That's not a bad precept to live by." She said quite seriously.

He smiled, "Precept?"

"Uh…A directive."

"So...what you're saying is..."

She shrugged her shoulders; she didn't have any more valid points. _Booth won – this round_, she told herself. But she would never tell him. "A deal's a deal, Booth. I can't argue with that."

"Ok," he winked at her. Knowing that he had won, but not saying it out loud, he didn't want to appear cocky. "Wanna get lunch?"


	2. Chapter 2

What we think isn't always what we thought

What we think isn't always what we thought

Sitting in the SUV, in the middle of downtown D.C., Booth and Brennan were on a stakeout. They had been sitting for several hours, it was the middle of the night and they had run out of things to talk about – a first for the two, when Brennan tapped him on the shoulder and asked;

"I think I know the answer to this but why did you and Cam break up, other than the whole 'line' issue?" She leaned in towards him, hoping that her close proximity would keep him from getting too hostile.

"Why do _you_ think things didn't work out between Cam and me?" Booth was sure her answer would be amusing, amusingly wrong. But instead she was dead on – completely right.

"You both want different things out of life; she doesn't want children - you do, she's never expressed that much interest in marriage or commitment - you are so committed to everything in your life that you eat the same thing every Thursday for dinner. And she's dedicated to her work and I would think that you would want a potential mate who wasn't so... You are just very different people." Her mouth was inches from his ear and he could barely concentrate on what she was saying.

"Bones, you're right about the commitment thing - I do need that. But the rest of it is debatable." He shifted in his seat trying to create extra space between them.

"You don't want kids?" Her eyes opened wide and at that moment, just by the tone in her voice, they both knew they weren't talking about him and Cam anymore.

"I do, but I have Parker and if I fell in love with a woman who didn't want children - I would be ok with that."

"You would?"

"Yeah, what about you? Still against marriage and kids?"

"I never thought I wanted either of them and I still don't think I do but..."

"You know, I never _thought _I'd be the age I am now and I'd never have been married or that I'd have a child out of wedlock but I also never _thought_ I'd spend the bulk of my time in the Jeffersonian or be partnered with a butt-kicking, forensic anthropologist so things have their own way of working out. Your experiences change what you _think_ all the time."

"So, what I have always thought I wanted out from my life could be changed by the path and course I choose?"

He leaned in towards her, making sure she heard every word he had to say."Yeah, Bones. You might meet a guy and all of the sudden _know_ that marrying him and having his kids wouldn't be the burden you've always believed it to be. You might actually see it as a gift, a blessing.. "

Brennan shrugged her shoulders, "I guess that's possible."


	3. Chapter 3

Yes, Even Saint Seeley Ogles

Yes, Even Saint Seeley Ogles

Booth stood watching Bones lean over a new body he had just brought in. He couldn't help but notice how tight her jeans were. He didn't mind, he didn't mind at all but they conjured up all sorts of ideas that he shouldn't have about his partner…He cleared his throat and tried to push all of his naughty thoughts out of his mind and walked towards her.

"Hey Bones, you say you want to be taken seriously for your mind which is a totally valid desire but when you come to work….umm..dressed like this – you're body is saying something completely different"

"What is my body saying to you, Booth?" She looked up with a sly grin. She knew the jeans would work – they had never failed her before.

"Forget it." He knew he was opening a can of worms he wasn't ready to deal with. He started to walk away.

"What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"Most of the time, nothing…but today, those …jeans are way too tight to have on here in the lab." Booth was starting to sweat "When people are trying to work...and stuff."

She spun around to face him. "My tight jeans are no different than your cocky belt buckle." She plucked the buckle - sending shockwaves throughout his body.

"H..H...How do you figure?"

"They both invite members of the opposite and same sex to wonder what's underneath. The difference is; I'm wearing these today because I've been too busy working to do laundry but you choose to wear that belt buckle everyday."

"The buckle is meant to be a joke – those jeans…" He looked her up and down, finding it very hard to concentrate, "Those jeans are no joke."

"Have you been ogling me?" Brennan was intrigued – she knew he had but he had always told her that he didn't do that, ever.

"No, you know I don't do that." He crossed his arms across his chest in defiance.

"Then what is this new found interest in my jeans?"

"They leave nothing to my…or anyone else's imagination."

"You were ogling me – admit it."

"Bones…." He sighed heavily and turned away from her, "I couldn't not look at you, – the whole package is outstanding."

"So, I am right, you do ogle women?"

"You are right but the ogling is saved for few and far between." He winked and sauntered off the platform, into her office to take a nap on her couch. Pleading with his brain to get the images of her out of his mind.


End file.
